Last Friday showed us why we still need to be reminded of the golden cliche, “That’s why they play the game.” There were a couple of teams that found redemption, while others are desperately seeking answers immediately. Some teams by the end of this week will have played 50% of their regular season schedule and we haven’t even reached the end of September. There’s plenty to talk about, so let’s get down to business shall we ?
***It was Jefferson’s turn to make an appearance outside of the state lines on Saturday, this time against national powerhouse St. Edward’s from Cleveland. Wasn’t exactly how they drew it up I’m sure, but let’s not get TOO ahead of ourselves. It just goes to show what graduation can do to even the best of HS teams. The Dragons 2 losses have come by an average score of 45-15, which doesn’t bode well with some of the best offenses in the area on the schedule in Armwood, Hillsborough, King, and Sickles in consecutive weeks.***
***Speaking of King and Sickles, if you said that the Lions would be 1-3 and the Gryphons 3-0 at this point, you should just pack your stuff up and head to Vegas. You would be hard pressed to find a team that had more buzz surrounding it than King coming into the season, and just as challenged to find ANY belief in Sickles beyond the walls of their locker room. Well, that huge chip on the Gryphons shoulders just got bigger even after a win against the Lions in which they absolutely dominated up front and have now firmly planted themselves as a contender for a playoff spot. Ordinarily you should win ball games at this level when you average 28 points a game. Problem is King’s Defense is allowing 40 points a game. Ouch.***
***We all talked about the vaunted 6A-8 District with the Armwood, Hillsborough’s, Jefferson’s and so on, but the one district that could end of matching the fireworks is all the way out East. The District 7A-8 race with Plant City, Newsome, and Durant could end up being one of the best things going. In fact two of the most underrated teams in the county in my opinion are Durant and Newsome. Plant City gets both rivals at home, as well as a bye this week to prepare for Durant. Advantage Raiders, but October 21st will be a circus when DOOrant and the Wolves hook up in Lithia. ***
***There’s a mojo risin’ out in NW Hillsborough from Town & Country up the Veterans Expressway to Lutz in addition to Sickles. Not to be outdone by their counterparts in Citrus Park, Alonso and Steinbrenner are a combined 6-1 with the only loss by Steinbrenner at the hands of Sickles. The Ravens schedule sets up nicely to be 5-0 headed into their game with Plant City. Steinbrenner goes into their bye with a district win under their belt against Freedom and will face what is sure to become one of THE most-heated rivalries in the county when they travel down Dale Mabry to Gaither in 2 weeks.***
***Last, but certainly not least; the more things change, the more they stay the same it appears with Berkeley Prep. Not very many do it like Coach Ciao and with the help of some dude named Nelson Agholor, it appears the Buccaneers may be the clubhouse co-favorite to bring a title back to Hillsborough county along with Armwood. They are undefeated with an average margin of victory of 31 points. Agholor has accounted for 10 of BP’s 11 Touchdowns, but even if you try to stop Nelson, who only end up containing him and that lasts all of 5 minutes or so.***
Game of the Week:
Tampa Bay Tech at Plant: You can talk about Armwood at Jefferson all you want, but when the Titans and the Panthers hook up, it’s hard to disappoint. TBT gave Plant all they could handle last year, and will bring that same confidence into this years matchup. Regardless of its locale.